ISP203A MSU exam4 new portion

What is a trend in average global temperature since the late 1800s?

-has increased as years went by, about .5 -has warmed since 1880

What impact might ocean warming have on energy from the sun reaching the earth (albedo)?

-ice loss effect on albedo -sea level has risen as a result of increased global temp -2/3 has to do with melting of land ice -1/3 has to do with expansion of sea water as it warmed -when ice decreases you have a lot more energy absorption

How much has ocean warmed?

-ocean has responded more slowly than land environments -warming does not occur just on the surface -remember it takes a lot of energy -ocean can absorb 1000 times the amount of energy as the atmosphere. Roughly absorbs 80-90% heat energy. Warming occurred from surface to a depth of 2,300 ft. -.18 degrees F or .1 degrees C

What kinds of effects does ocean warming have on ocean food webs?

-the warmer the surface water becomes, the less mixing that occurs, the less mixing results in nutrients becoming scare at the surface = lower productivity

What percent of the incoming short wave radiation to the sun is reflected and scattered?

6% by atmosphere 20% by clouds 4% by earths surface

EPA data of greenhouse gas emissions from the US in 2017

82% of greenhouse gasses are CO2 emitted with the highest levels from electricity (28%) and transportation (29%) Greenhouse gasses emitted: Fluorinated gasses (3%), Nitrous oxide (6%), Methane (10%), Carbon dioxide (82%) These gasses come from: Transportation (29%) Electricity (28%) Industry (22%) commercial and residential (12%) agriculture (9%)

What is hydraulic fracturing?

Hydraulic fracking injects more than a million gallons of water, sand, and chemicals at a high pressure down and across as far as 10000 feet below the surface and into the Shale causing it to crack and have a natural fas flow up the well. Natural gas and oil are sometimes trapped in the rocks time pores.

How were atmospheric CO2 levels determined pre-1985?

Ice cores: snow, compressed snow, ice

what is ocean acidification and what problems does it pose?

Increased atmospheric CO2 has led acidification of surface waters (decreasing pH). pH is a unit of measure ranging between 0-14. The lower the pH value, the more acidic the environment. More h+ makes the water more acidic. this can lead to organism not producing the correct way or inhibits shell growth in marine animals. it is a suspected cause of reproductive disorder in some fish.

What is earth's orbit from the northern hemisphere?

March equinox (spring): neither pole tilts towards the sun Summer solstice: Northern hemisphere tilts towards the sun September equinox (fall): neither pole tilts towards the sun Winter Solstice: northern hemisphere tilts away from the sun

% consumption of the dry atmosphere?

N2: 78.084% or 80% O2: 20.947% or 21% CO2: .033% or >1%

How much Co2 is emitted per kilowatt hour of electricity generated using coal vs. natural gas?

Natural Gas: 1.22 kWH Coal: 2.08

What does the Keeling curve represent and what is it s general trend?

Plot the ongoing changes in concentration of CO2 in earth's atmosphere since 1950s graph of accumulation of CO2 in the earths atmosphere based in continuous measurements taken at the Mauna Loa Observatory on the island of Hawaii from 1985 to the present day. Upward exponential trend

What are the 3 global climate zones?

Polar: consistently cool Temperate: fluctuates through seasons Tropical: consistently warm

What proportion of US energy consumption is renewable energy (2017 data)?

Renewable energy: 11% Biomass - 5% Hydropower - 2.8% Geothermal - .2% Wind - 2.4% Solar and other - .8%

Why does the Keeling curve vary on an annual cycle?

Seasons, photosynthesis, CO2 levels

How does the sun emit energy?

Short wave radiation

Why is this statement misleading? "With history of 60 years, after nearly a million wells drilled, there are no documents cases that hydraulic fracturing has led to the contamination of water."

This is misleading because there may be "no direct evidence" found from hydraulic fracking, but many residents have testified that after an oil well opened near their home, the methane concentration in their drinking water increases with proximity to the nearest gas well.

What is the difference between weather and climate?

Weather is short term. Climate is a description of long term patterns of weather in a particular area. > than 30 years

What are disadvantages of using renewable sources of energy to generate electricity?

Wind: intermittent aesthetics, impacts wildlife Solar power: intermittent and regional Hydropower: loss of land, ecosystem disruption, initial cost

What are advantages of using renewable sources of energy to generate electricity?

Wind: no fuel, no water for cooling, CO2 emission free Solar Power: free, renewable, few environmental costs Hydropower: no fuel, relatively inexpensive, provides flood control and water storage, continuous electricity

What is the greenhouse effect?

a process caused by greenhouse gasses, which occur naturally in the atmosphere. This process plays a crucial role in warming the earth's surface, making it habitable

What is the Milankovitch cycle?

as the earth travels through space around the sun, cyclical variations in three elements of the earth-sun geometry combine to produce variations in the amount of solar energy that reaches the earth

Changes in PRECESSION

change in direction of the earth's axis rotations; cycle lasts about 23,000 years

Changes in OLIQUITY

changes the angle that earth's axis makes with the plane of earth's orbit; cycle takes about 40,000 years

how much has temperature changed since the late 1800s?

earth has increased by .8 degrees C or 1.4 degree F

What is heat capacity? How does heat capacity for water compare to that of air?

heat capacity = specific heat of an object regardless of mass heat capacity of water > heat capacity of atmosphere need a lot of energy to increase the water temp, takes a lot of energy to cool down

how has sea level changed?

increased 3.2 millimeters per year

What is albedo?

it indicates how well a surface reflects solar energy, ranges between 0-1 0: absorbs all incoming energy 1: reflects all incoming energy Earths albedo: .30 typical ocean albedo: .06 bare sea ice: .5-.7 snow covered sea ice: .9/perfect reflectant

What does ppm refer to?

parts per million: how many parts of CO2 there are in one million parts of air

What are positive feedback loops?

tends to minimize the effect of a disturbance and returning to the normal state is almost impossible initial change > climate warming > increased atmosphere water vapor > increased greenhouse trapping of radiation > increased warming

Variations in the earths orbital ECCENTRICITY

the shape of the orbit around the sun which affects the the earth-sun distance; cycle takes about 100,000 years; could be a perfect circle or like an oval

What are negative feedback loops?

they tend to minimize the effect of a disturbance and return to the normal state Initial state > climate warming > increased evaporation and cloud cover > decreased incoming solar radiation (albedo) > cooling

what are greenhouse gasses?

water vapor, CO2, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone

How are CO2 and global temperatures related?

when CO2 concentration goes up, temp goes up as well. majority of the correspondence is consistent with a feedback between carbon dioxide and climate. Increasing carbon dioxide can increase earths temp.

what is reflection?

when solar radiation hits a surface and sends it directly back

What is scattering?

when the solar radiation hits very small objects and bounces off stuff

What are the concerns with hydraulic fracking?

- air emissions from equipment -noise pollution -habitat fragmentation -land and water usage -GROUNDWATER contamination - leasing of mineral rights on state property

what kinds of effects does ocean warming have on Greenland Ice, Antarctic ice shelf mass and Arctic sea ice?

-Antarctic mass loss: 127.0 gigatons per year decrease -Greenland mass loss: 286.0 gigatons per year - arctic sea ice is as its minimum during September. Sept. arctic sea ice is declining by 12.8% decrease

What percent of the incoming short wave radiation is absorbed?

19% by atmosphere 51% at Earths surface

How do greenhouse gasses trap heat?

Does NOT absorb visible or infrared radiation: -nitrogen -oxygen -argon DO absorb visible or infrared radiation and emit heat energy in all directions: -CO2 -methane -nitrous oxide -Sulfur h. Solar energy absorbed at Earth's surface is radiated back into the atmosphere as heat. As the heat makes its way through the atmosphere and back out to space, greenhouse gases absorb much of it. this is an issue because fossil fuels increase a lot of CO2 which absorbs heat so when there is an increase of these gasses the surface temp increases ENERGY INPUT & OUTPUT